Horizons
by OhaiCHILLY
Summary: A Rude story that I decided to write. It's honestly just a personal story that I decided to write and post.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Nostalgia**

Memories… Hmm, not something I'm too fond of nowadays. Not too fond of thinking about these memories either. Suppose it's nothing I can control; nostalgia reels its ugly head like the bitch it is. I guess this room just brings back all these memories. Thank God I'm always busy with the job. Because of it I'm hardly ever home. But the boss put me on vacation, said I work too hard. There's a reason for that but I can't complain.

There was a time in my life where I was completely elated and didn't have a worry in the world. I guess those vital things we lost are gone forever. You can't grow your ear back once something's taken a bite out of it. Can't get your heart back when someone had that part of you. It's gone forever. I used to be talkative… Couldn't shut me up… Now getting me to talk is a pain in the ass. I talk when necessary.

Hell, I can't believe I've been living in a shitty apartment for ten years. I coulda had a house by now. What the hell am I talking about? I don't stay in one place long enough to even care. My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening, "Yo!", the dropping of keys in the bowl by the door, the slipping off of shoes. Reno's usual striptease while he makes his way up the hallway to the kitchen. The refrigerator opens and the distinct sound of a beer bottle opening.

"Get me one, will you?" He's already pulled his hair out of the confines of the band and is left in a shirt and boxers. Just like me. The refrigerator opens again and he's bringing the bottle over to me. I sit up so he has somewhere to sit as well and open my beer to take the first good swig of the import we love.

"I know what's eating you." I'm not in the mood for a philosophical lecture but I sit there anyway. I let him have his glory. Good ol' Reno. "I miss her too ya know. This place seems empty without her. Those were the good days, when you thought nothing could ever hurt you. Ah, naivety." I pulled my mouth to the side as my head rested on the back of the couch. "Gotta let her go sometime. And I know it's hard, but it's gotta be done. She wouldn't want you moping and whining all over the place. She loved you happy."

_She…_

Been a while I suppose. Back when I was young and high on life. I worked for Shinra as a guard at the local prison. I had worked my way up from the lovely position of a janitor for about 6 years now. That was ten years ago. Think I was walking to work, yelling at Reno to get his ass out of bed because he'd be fired over the phone with a bagel in the other hand. I'd just hung up with him when someone ran into me. She fell flat on her rear, and no sooner had the shock settled she was scrambling for her phone and running off. I picked up my phone and took a bite from the bagel as I began to walk again. "She's in a hurry." I had laughed to myself as I continued to walk. I pressed the button on the side of my phone to put it on silent. I noticed a change in settings. Curiosity, I opened the phone. It wasn't mine. After a sharp 180 I tried to call for the girl that had run into me, but she was nowhere to be seen.

During lunch I called Reno to tell him about my phone switch up. "So that's why you sounded like a girl and hung up on me! And here I thought you had a secret life!" The sarcasm died off with a few awkward laughs and then he cleared his throat, "You're gonna have'ta get it back!"

"I know Reno," my voice was tight and held slight resignation in it. It'd be so awkward to have to call my phone from her phone so I could exchange phones with her.

But I went home to Reno chanting, "Call her!" over and over again.

We were in the middle of dinner and I was tired of a mouthful of rice saying, "I still say you should call her, like, right now!"

"Dammit Reno!" I took her phone and dialed my number.

It rang a few times, "Hello?" I heard a soft voice ask.

"Hi!" I said into the receiver. "I think we accidentally have each others phones. I was wondering if perhaps tomorrow you would want to meet up somewhere in order to switch them back?" There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Who is this?" The tiny voice asked.

"Oh, sorry! My name is Rude. We sort of ran into each other this morning and switched phones." I explained again. I had to keep from smiling at the dimwitted response.

"Oh, yes, that's why the weird man called me? Okay. Uhm, where do we meet up?"

"How about Horizons? You know, in Sector three? Tomorrow morning at around 10." More silence. This person seemed really awkward and sweet.

"That's fine I suppose. I'll have to leave early," the last part I only barely made out. Reno's snigger was annoying. "I'll see you then, goodbye Rude!" and then the line disconnected. I closed her phone and shook my head.

"Sounds like a date Rude!" Reno laughed. I felt my face go up about ten shades.

"I—I… I'm just getting my phone back! I know nothing about the girl other than she's sort of awkward and has a very innocent voice. And she can run…"

"Hair color?"

"Dirty blon—Why does that matter?" Reno laughed again.

"Ah, buddy… This can only end badly." Knowing what I know now, those words were the immediate downfall. But his smug smile calmed my nerves for the moment. And, like the idiot I was, I let Reno persuade me to go get shitfaced that night.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Well, Hello!

Wound up waking up around eight in the morning. Take a shower, get dressed. Made up my mind too go to the place I'd been thinking about all day. Horizons. It's different now, because the top plate isn't there anymore and that's where it was. But the owners rebuilt it at around the same place.

The bell above the door signals when I was inside. I get a coffee and bagel, then sit down to eat. I wasn't too far into my breakfast when a long red cape catches my eye. I look up to see eerie red eyes staring down at me. "Rude?" His voice is deep and menacing. Sends chills down my back every time I hear it.

"Vincent Valentine," I acknowledge as I motion for him to sit across from me.

"Early riser?"

"Bad dream," I correct.

"Ah, I see. Of what?" Don't know if I should tell him… I just want to eat and be out of here.

"Someone I loved." He notices the tense and leans forward just a little, resting on his elbows.

"I understand, I had my love taken away from me as well. Lucrecia…" He sighs. "Hojo, that bastard… And Sephiroth… He would have been different if that sick, sadistic… I'm almost sorry for him." The pauses are enough to let me know he's really trying to keep it in.

"Her name was Maruko. I'm a Turk, she was in AVALANCHE. I tried to stop it… Didn't work. Watched her die in—" I have to stop. "I met her here." I notion with a nod of my head, "Well, when here was up there," I notion again.

"I see." Vincent falls silent, almost as if he's thinking deeply. "Do you ever contemplate the seconds that could have made it different?"

"All the time, there was a window of opportunity I could have taken… I didn't."

"I'm sorry. I know I had those same seconds…" He looked away as he stood. "Nice to talk to you, Rude."

"You too, Vincent," for just a second he's standing there with a knowing look on his face, and then walks away. When I look at the table, I see this is the same one we sat at, there's a strange carving on the top. I trace it with my finger and…

Every time the bell sounded my head shot up. I kept stirring my coffee in a sort of compulsive way to pass the time. Finally a girl walks in with dirty blonde hair it's pulled up into a bun. Her eyes search around quickly, and somehow she spots me and smiles awkwardly. She had on a soft leather vest with a sort of special silver armor for the long sleeves. She had a holster on either hip with brilliant platinum 9mm's resting in both. Her eyes had the mako glow to them. Her shorts were sort of denim and went to her knees, very tattered. She walked quickly and sat down, placing my phone on the table. Her long nails began to tap nervously on the table.

"Good morning," I smiled.

"Maruko," she held her hand out now, a smile on her face. I accepted the gesture and thought of something to say.

"Your eyes…"

"Ex-SOLDIER, Second class…" her nod was tight. I took out her phone and handed it to her. In return I took mine. She looked down and began to play with a strange carving on the table. I watched as her fingers traced the pattern over and over again. "I'm sorry about this whole phone switch up. I…" There was a very awkward silence.

"You…"

"I was running," Her eyes rolled and stayed on the floor. "I broke out. They had locked me up for no reason. Actually for a reason, but not that I was doing anything wrong."

"You know I'm a prison guard." She stood quickly and looked at me with fear. "I'm not quite that passionate about my job, don't worry." I laughed. "Please, Maruko, sit." I smiled.

"Forgive me, but… you hardly look like someone who would work for Shinra." She said quietly.

"So does my best friend Reno, he's a Turk."

"A Turk?" She swallowed hard. "You mean like that Tseng character… Wait, what color hair does Reno have?" She asked as her eyes widened.

"Red."

"Shit," she whispered.

"Listen Rude, it was really nice to meet you, but I would really prefer it if we… Perhaps… If we didn't get to know each other. Turks are very loyal. I wouldn't want my association with you to put strain on your friendship at all. Goodbye." She stood and this time I didn't stop her from leaving.

Naturally I went home. The way I went home like I did today after the memory died.

When Reno came home I told him about Maruko.

"Shit," threw the files in his hand down and covered his face with his hands. He turned and looked at me with a strange calmness. "She didn't do anything…" His eyes seemed empty then. "A few years ago when she was in SOLDIER… She had moved up to Second Class, and… Well some shit happened where she was put in an awkward situation. She was face to face with a General from Wutai. The General had her commanding officer in his arms. He was going to shoot him and her commanding officer was in the way of her shot. He kept screaming, 'SHOOT! SHOOT!" Reno shifted weight from one foot to the other and laughed loudly. "He didn't stand a chance, she was the best two-handed shooter anyone had seen. She knew that because she was a woman she'd be penalized a hell of a lot worse for killing her commanding officer to kill the General from Wutai.

"Since then Shinra had put the Turks on an assignment to look for her. We worked hard at it at first. But when she couldn't be traced we put it aside to get to the bigger shit. Tseng and I thought it was ridiculous, but orders are orders.

"We got a lead a few weeks ago about her, apparently she had saved a lot of people from Gongaga when the reactor went up. People started talking about her, recommended her for SOLDIER. That's when we went for her.

"Cissnei was the one who eventually took her in, apparently she's part of AVALANCHE. We didn't find Elfe, Verdot, or Fuhido, just her recuperating in the town. That's when we went." I ran my hands over my head and sighed. "I didn't want to do it, but Tseng hit me, said it was for Shinra and off we went."

Later that night I called her. Her number was still in my phone from the switch up.

"Hello?" Her voice was still so innocent sounding.

"Maruko! Hi!" I didn't know why I kept insisting on this, but she was so personable even for being awkward. I couldn't let her slip through my fingers.

"Rude?" She sounded nervous again.

"Listen, I talked to Reno, and I want you to talk to him…" I knew it was a long shot, but I'd try anyway.

"Uh-" She stopped abruptly and hissed a breath through her teeth. "Fine," she agreed with great reluctance.

And that's what initially started it all. "Yo!" Reno… He takes off his shoes, drops his keys in the bowl, strips on the way to the refrigerator, only tonight it's water because there's a rule we made about not drinking more than twice a week. He sighed as he sat beside me. "I have next week off, and I know you have these two weeks off, want to go to Costa del Sol with me?"

"Anything is better than the dreary skies of Midgar." I shrug.

"Cool." He sighs as he pulls the band out of his hair. "Still thinking about her?" Both our eyes are on her picture now, hanging in its rightful place on the wall.

"Yeah." I stand quickly. "Let's go to Tifa's bar." I smile.

"You're not going to get all emotional on me Rude, I know she's gone but this is ridiculous! She died over six years ago!"

"I know!" I yell, "But that was the most important relationship I had. Being here, being at home, not getting out. The fact that almost everywhere I go I'm reminded of her. She was more important to me than Chelsea, and you know how THAT ended."

"Yes, and this is all very sad Rude, but they don't want you moping around about it either!"

"Whatever Reno."

"Dammit!" He yells as I make my way out the door. I hear something thrown against the wall and I sneer as I continue down the hall. Maybe I can get some peace at the bar.


End file.
